Sri Lanka

I've just returned from a 5 week trip in Sri Lanka, 4 of which were spent with PMGY. The 4 weeks comprised 2 weeks working in the New Tsunami school and 2 weeks intensely scrubbing Raja, the elephant.
The projects themselves are well-organised and highly involving. The tsunami school runs roughly from 3-6pm on weekdays and it is expected (and advised) that you spend a couple of hours planning the lesson beforehand. All projects run on the weekdays, but there is some differences in the timing of projects which is worth checking; you may be able to help at another project in the same day. The remaining two weeks were spent with PMGY's friendly elephant, Raja. The morning's structure involved first cleaning Raja's bed (I.e moving loads of branches), then cleaning Raja's faeces (I.e shovelling mounds of poo into a bag), then washing the elephant with a king coconut shell! The flexibility in the projects meant that I was also able to spend some time with the turtles at the turtle sanctuary based in Hikkaduwa, roughly 5km from Ambalangoda, which is where the volunteers stay. This was an absolutely incredible experience and one that id encourage anyone to do.
PMGY compromises wonderfully the exhausting projects with relaxation and opportunities to be a tourist. I spent a weekend in Mirissa, the honeymoon capital of Sri Lanka. It sounds unoriginal to say it was idyllic, but it really was. I made the journey by bus, which cost 100srp or 50p for a three hour journey. Next I went to Unawatuna, a slightly less clean and picturesque Mirissa, but still wonderful and worth visiting.
Overall, the experience was incredible and well worth doing. It facilitated a fruitful volunteering experience but also encouraged you to be a tourist. I look forward to working with PMGY again.